Thanks for the great episode and "Infinity War" reviews, guys. I've grown so sick of all the more mainstream critics slamming the hell out of the movie, it was so refreshing to hear from fellow fans who "get it" and understood the amazing accomplishment this film represents.
Oh, a fun (ny) fact that my comic shop owner friend in Japan just told me. On the opening weekend (April 27th-29th) of Avengers:Infinity War, the movie was #1 in most countries, but was #2 in Japan. What movie beat it out? An anime sequel called Conan the Detective (or Detective Conan). I guess parents preferred to take their kids to see Conan that weekend.
Dave, I was merely expressing my opinion when it comes to what I consider the contrast between the recent Marvel and DC films in terms of overall quality. I have praised the Wonder Woman film numerous times; I would hold it up to any of the Marvel flicks. That said, I wasn't "bashing" DC, or expressing "hate" towards it, let alone ranting, shouting, or foaming at the mouth.
Marvel has an "exclusive copyright on great writing and great characters?" Some of the greatest yarns the medium has ever produced have come out of DC: Batman Year One, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Sandman, Moore's Swamp Thing, Crisis, New Teen Titans by Wolfman/Perez, O'Neil/Adams Batman, the list goes on and on...Granted, I grew up primarily reading Marvel, and I naturally gravitate towards those characters. I have always believed that the approach to characterization that Lee/Kirby/Ditko/Heck, etc. brought to the Marvel Silver Age shook up the superhero medium for the better, and paved the way for numerous classics from both companies.
If anything, I was referring to how that approach to characterization is evident in the Marvel films to a far more satisfying degree than the DC offerings. Wonder Woman is a notable exception from my point of view, as that outstanding film took the time to really develop and humanize her character through humor and pathos (and her superb chemistry with Steve Trevor). The Donner Superman film (which remains my favorite comic book adaptation) lovingly captures both the mythic and human elements of the Man of Steel. The Nolan Batman trilogy is a masterpiece in my book. The recent DC films, which I root for with every new release, are too often rushed, too top heavy with interminable action scenes, and characterization suffers as a result (again, Wonder Woman is a refreshing exception). I owned a comic shop for nearly 20 years, and took on all the inevitable struggles that come with that business. How could I not respect and love DC characters?
As always, thanks for listening, and for supporting the show. I'm sorry to read that you took my comments as disrespectful and hateful. Providing our unvarnished opinions is part and parcel of what CGS is about, and it's all in service to the medium we all love. I hope you'll stick around.
Best,
Chris
Thanks for clarifying that, Chris, and I apologize for my misunderstanding. As I wrote above, I was hoping that you were at least merely criticizing Warner's recent DCEU movies instead of DC Comics' characters in general (a slam I commonly hear from other "self-professed Marvel zombies"), so I'm relieved to hear that was the case. As tired as I am of the age-old Marvel vs. DC thing, and especially the relatively recent MCU vs. DCEU thing - and even though I do enjoy a couple DCEU movies more than the vocal masses do - I also easily agree with/ freely admit that Disney's doing a hell of a better job than Warners currently is, when it comes to making films from the superheroes they own. That's as obvious as it is endlessly noted these days. I just wish more people would stress how it's a shame for DC Comics, and for superhero movie fans - who are only getting half the fun comic book readers have enjoyed for so long.
Oh, a fun (ny) fact that my comic shop owner friend in Japan just told me. On the opening weekend (April 27th-29th) of Avengers:Infinity War, the movie was #1 in most countries, but was #2 in Japan. What movie beat it out? An anime sequel called Conan the Detective (or Detective Conan). I guess parents preferred to take their kids to see Conan that weekend.
Detective Conan movies have always been #1 opening in Japan's box office, so I'm not surprised there. I was a huge Conan fan back then, but I only liked a few of its movies.
Anime movies that are adapted from their respective TV series (Conan was an anime TV series) are rarely good, and Conan is no exception. The older ones were better, but because they had to make one every, single, year, the quality just degraded as the years went on.
Movie 20 was amazing though, being a "20th anniversary" sort of movie. The one last year was a romcom, which I didn't bother to check out. The one you're referring to is probably movie 22... Just saw the trailer. No wonder it beat Infinity War. It features one of the more prominent new characters in the TV series, Amuro Tooru. He's involved in the main plot of the anime (Conan has so many filler episodes and multiple side-plots), which became very interesting since around the time movie 20 was released... but you would have to have followed the anime to know what I'm talking about. I'll stop there. lol
I know this isn’t an article about Infinity War, but I liked the jab at “superhero fatigue” used by some critics (& James Cameron) of the genre. Something we touched on in the episode.
I think even for a 2 hour and 40-minute movie, they couldn't editorialize every single thing. I believe as many others do that the bus scene establishes the Spider-Sense. I feel it was shown that he has that power and you don't need to talk about it. Here are two articles about whether or not Peter knew what was happening before it happened.
As for the relationship between Peter and Tony. I like it. I think it's different than the comics and that's fine. Why should be exactly the same? I like the mentor/father-figure Tony has with Peter and it made Peter's end all the more heartbreaking. As I said, I'm knowledgeable enough about the comics and yet I still found this sad and I don't mind saying I teared up.
I think even for a 2 hour and 40-minute movie, they couldn't editorialize every single thing. I believe as many others do that the bus scene establishes the Spider-Sense. I feel it was shown that he has that power and you don't need to talk about it. Here are two articles about whether or not Peter knew what was happening before it happened.
As for the relationship between Peter and Tony. I like it. I think it's different than the comics and that's fine. Why should be exactly the same? I like the mentor/father-figure Tony has with Peter and it made Peter's end all the more heartbreaking. As I said, I'm knowledgeable enough about the comics and yet I still found this sad and I don't mind saying I teared up.
For what it's worth (about 2 cents) I have to say I also found Peter's death, far and away, the saddest and most moving. The fact that Holland improvised it both impresses me even more and yet somehow makes even more sense since I thought Holland's fear was palpable in that scene. I thought it was great to see a hero so vulnerable ( and not just in the more common expressing feelings kind of way, but the terror-stricken "Oh god I don't want to die" way which I'm not sure I've ever seen before with any action hero). The level of fear only magnifies the sense of bravery and sacrifice.
Peter's death worked for me as, at that point in the movie, it felt earned. Had every character gone out like that it would have felt gratuitous, but given how sudden, and how fast, most were disappearing, I thought there was room to make more of a moment out of one or two of them.
I think even for a 2 hour and 40-minute movie, they couldn't editorialize every single thing. I believe as many others do that the bus scene establishes the Spider-Sense. I feel it was shown that he has that power and you don't need to talk about it. Here are two articles about whether or not Peter knew what was happening before it happened.
As for the relationship between Peter and Tony. I like it. I think it's different than the comics and that's fine. Why should be exactly the same? I like the mentor/father-figure Tony has with Peter and it made Peter's end all the more heartbreaking. As I said, I'm knowledgeable enough about the comics and yet I still found this sad and I don't mind saying I teared up.
Peter's death worked for me as, at that point in the movie, it felt earned. Had every character gone out like that it would have felt gratuitous, but given how sudden, and how fast, most were disappearing, I thought there was room to make more of a moment out of one or two of them.
Oh, a fun (ny) fact that my comic shop owner friend in Japan just told me. On the opening weekend (April 27th-29th) of Avengers:Infinity War, the movie was #1 in most countries, but was #2 in Japan. What movie beat it out? An anime sequel called Conan the Detective (or Detective Conan). I guess parents preferred to take their kids to see Conan that weekend.
Detective Conan movies have always been #1 opening in Japan's box office, so I'm not surprised there. I was a huge Conan fan back then, but I only liked a few of its movies.
Anime movies that are adapted from their respective TV series (Conan was an anime TV series) are rarely good, and Conan is no exception. The older ones were better, but because they had to make one every, single, year, the quality just degraded as the years went on.
Movie 20 was amazing though, being a "20th anniversary" sort of movie. The one last year was a romcom, which I didn't bother to check out. The one you're referring to is probably movie 22... Just saw the trailer. No wonder it beat Infinity War. It features one of the more prominent new characters in the TV series, Amuro Tooru. He's involved in the main plot of the anime (Conan has so many filler episodes and multiple side-plots), which became very interesting since around the time movie 20 was released... but you would have to have followed the anime to know what I'm talking about. I'll stop there. lol
Yeah, I'm not surprised that an anime was #1 at the box office here (Japan), but I'm still a bit surprised that it beat out Infinity War. As an aside, I'm pretty glad that I went to a late show Friday night on the 27th to see Avengers instead of trying to go to matinees on Saturday or Sunday: Those lines for tickets and refreshments would've been horrible! Anyway, thanks for the background on Detective Conan, Orius.
Comments
An anime sequel called Conan the Detective (or Detective Conan). I guess parents preferred to take their kids to see Conan that weekend.
Anime movies that are adapted from their respective TV series (Conan was an anime TV series) are rarely good, and Conan is no exception. The older ones were better, but because they had to make one every, single, year, the quality just degraded as the years went on.
Movie 20 was amazing though, being a "20th anniversary" sort of movie. The one last year was a romcom, which I didn't bother to check out. The one you're referring to is probably movie 22... Just saw the trailer. No wonder it beat Infinity War. It features one of the more prominent new characters in the TV series, Amuro Tooru. He's involved in the main plot of the anime (Conan has so many filler episodes and multiple side-plots), which became very interesting since around the time movie 20 was released... but you would have to have followed the anime to know what I'm talking about. I'll stop there. lol
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/05/19/box-office-deadpool-2-superhero-fatigues-to-record-breaking-53m-friday/amp/
I love it. Keep ‘em coming. I might not be interested in every since one, but better to have a variety to choose from then be stuck with a few.
https://www.cbr.com/spidey-sense-spider-man-death-infinity-war/amp/
Up until this point, it was strictly a fan theory.
https://amp.thisisinsider.com/avengers-infinity-war-directors-confirm-fan-theory-spider-man-death-2018-5
I question the usage of “saddest death.”